The AC Contract Translated into Plain English
Apr 8, 2014, 7:10 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,916
Section on RULES added to the original post:
RULES
There are a multitude of rules that beset the aviation business. Many of them are imposed by government and quasi-governmental regulatory agencies, and require us to do certain things, or not do certain things. Many of them require us to require you to do certain things, or not do certain things. The ones imposed by these agencies are generally related to safety and to bring some semblance of order to the chaos that characterizes our airspace. Others are intended to protect national security and such like. If you decline to act in compliance with these rules, there are other rules that empower us to do ungentlemanly things to you. So you are required to cooperate fully at all times.
Other rules are imposed by us. They are intended to accomplish a variety of objectives, most of which boil down to preservation of our profitability and facilitation of our operational convenience. We have absolute and unconditional discretion to decide to whom, when, where and how these rules are applied. This discretion need not be applied in the same manner at all times.
Some of these rules pertain to what we are obligated to do with your money after we have it, and you change your plans (recall that we can change anything, but if you change anything you will invariably pay more or forfeit what you’ve already paid). Others pertain to operational procedures such as checking in, checking baggage, not checking baggage, where and when your baggage must be stowed, where and when you sit, which lavatory you use and when you can use it, and so on. Many other rules pertain to what happens during and after IROPS (see above). Again, there are rules that empower us to do further ungentlemanly things to you if you don’t comply, even though the impugned rule may have no valid authority or force of law.
There are a couple of important rules you should understand about the rest of our rules. The first rule is that we make the rules and you follow them. You may not, under any circumstances, make your own rules. Secondly, some of the rules are public knowledge through announcements or publication in various forms, and other rules may not be. We don’t always tell you about the rules in advance for several reasons. For example, you do not need to know our secrets related to upgrade priority. We’ll tell you whether you get an upgrade in due course. In other circumstances, for operational reasons we sometimes need to make up new rules as we go. Nevertheless, you are required to comply with whatever we deem is a rule at any particular moment. For example, we may need to make up a rule about where you stow your carry-on baggage when someone more important than you needs space to stow theirs.
It is also pertinent that not all rules apply equally to all people. We get to choose which rules apply to you, when it applies and under what circumstances. Just because a rule applies to you doesn’t necessarily mean that it will apply to another passenger in the same circumstances at the same time. For example, on or off duty employees, cabin crew, friends and relations of same are arbitrarily exempt from many rules at the discretion of other employees. However, the employees granting such exemptions must be on duty at the time.
The whole regimen is highly complicated and we therefore cannot possibly expect all employees to know all of the rules all of the time. If they can’t know them thoroughly, we recognize that you can’t be expected to know them either. For this reason, we will conveniently tell you what the rules are when we need you to follow them, whereupon you are expected to follow them without question or hesitation.
Finally, it is essential for you to understand that for operational reasons we may change the rules at any time. However, you may not change the rules, ever.
Thank you for your cooperation.
RULES
There are a multitude of rules that beset the aviation business. Many of them are imposed by government and quasi-governmental regulatory agencies, and require us to do certain things, or not do certain things. Many of them require us to require you to do certain things, or not do certain things. The ones imposed by these agencies are generally related to safety and to bring some semblance of order to the chaos that characterizes our airspace. Others are intended to protect national security and such like. If you decline to act in compliance with these rules, there are other rules that empower us to do ungentlemanly things to you. So you are required to cooperate fully at all times.
Other rules are imposed by us. They are intended to accomplish a variety of objectives, most of which boil down to preservation of our profitability and facilitation of our operational convenience. We have absolute and unconditional discretion to decide to whom, when, where and how these rules are applied. This discretion need not be applied in the same manner at all times.
Some of these rules pertain to what we are obligated to do with your money after we have it, and you change your plans (recall that we can change anything, but if you change anything you will invariably pay more or forfeit what you’ve already paid). Others pertain to operational procedures such as checking in, checking baggage, not checking baggage, where and when your baggage must be stowed, where and when you sit, which lavatory you use and when you can use it, and so on. Many other rules pertain to what happens during and after IROPS (see above). Again, there are rules that empower us to do further ungentlemanly things to you if you don’t comply, even though the impugned rule may have no valid authority or force of law.
There are a couple of important rules you should understand about the rest of our rules. The first rule is that we make the rules and you follow them. You may not, under any circumstances, make your own rules. Secondly, some of the rules are public knowledge through announcements or publication in various forms, and other rules may not be. We don’t always tell you about the rules in advance for several reasons. For example, you do not need to know our secrets related to upgrade priority. We’ll tell you whether you get an upgrade in due course. In other circumstances, for operational reasons we sometimes need to make up new rules as we go. Nevertheless, you are required to comply with whatever we deem is a rule at any particular moment. For example, we may need to make up a rule about where you stow your carry-on baggage when someone more important than you needs space to stow theirs.
It is also pertinent that not all rules apply equally to all people. We get to choose which rules apply to you, when it applies and under what circumstances. Just because a rule applies to you doesn’t necessarily mean that it will apply to another passenger in the same circumstances at the same time. For example, on or off duty employees, cabin crew, friends and relations of same are arbitrarily exempt from many rules at the discretion of other employees. However, the employees granting such exemptions must be on duty at the time.
The whole regimen is highly complicated and we therefore cannot possibly expect all employees to know all of the rules all of the time. If they can’t know them thoroughly, we recognize that you can’t be expected to know them either. For this reason, we will conveniently tell you what the rules are when we need you to follow them, whereupon you are expected to follow them without question or hesitation.
Finally, it is essential for you to understand that for operational reasons we may change the rules at any time. However, you may not change the rules, ever.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Jul 6, 2014, 10:26 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,916
Updated to reflect newly disclosed upgrade priority rules:
There is actually an order of priority for the upgrade list. Curiously, the priority changes slightly depending on when we decide to confirm your upgrade. If we decide seats are available for upgrade more than 24 hours before departure, they are awarded to Altitude members (that's us, not them) based on certain special fare classes**, then your status level, then all the other fare classes, then the time you requested the upgrade. If your upgrade is not confirmed at the time you check in, the priority is almost the same, except the special fare classes that get you to the head of the list no longer matter, and the cabin you're ticketed in does. AC has charitably made this information public, for which many passengers have expressed thanks. It remains unclear, however, how, when and if seats are made available for upgrade, but you don’t need to know that, so we don’t tell you. The whole thing has become very complicated, and it remains to be seen whether our own employees will understand it. Since we can now explain it to you, our expectation is that most of them will eventually figure it out.
* At this point it is timely to explain another of the technical terms we use in the aviation business. “Confirmed” doesn’t actually mean “confirmed” in the normal sense. It means “confirmed unless we decide to unconfirm it”.
** As noted under TICKETING, even though it matters, we don't make it easy to figure out which fare class you're actually buying when you purchase a ticket. We find it adds to the mystique of flying this way.
There is actually an order of priority for the upgrade list. Curiously, the priority changes slightly depending on when we decide to confirm your upgrade. If we decide seats are available for upgrade more than 24 hours before departure, they are awarded to Altitude members (that's us, not them) based on certain special fare classes**, then your status level, then all the other fare classes, then the time you requested the upgrade. If your upgrade is not confirmed at the time you check in, the priority is almost the same, except the special fare classes that get you to the head of the list no longer matter, and the cabin you're ticketed in does. AC has charitably made this information public, for which many passengers have expressed thanks. It remains unclear, however, how, when and if seats are made available for upgrade, but you don’t need to know that, so we don’t tell you. The whole thing has become very complicated, and it remains to be seen whether our own employees will understand it. Since we can now explain it to you, our expectation is that most of them will eventually figure it out.
* At this point it is timely to explain another of the technical terms we use in the aviation business. “Confirmed” doesn’t actually mean “confirmed” in the normal sense. It means “confirmed unless we decide to unconfirm it”.
** As noted under TICKETING, even though it matters, we don't make it easy to figure out which fare class you're actually buying when you purchase a ticket. We find it adds to the mystique of flying this way.
Jul 7, 2014, 9:13 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YYC
Posts: 23,804
some sites such as Expedia or travelocity may not or used not to. But then these are braindead anyway.
Jul 7, 2014, 3:48 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,916
Yes, my mistake. The fare class chosen by AC is displayed. What I haven't figured out is how to change it if you don't like the one selected by the system. I vaguely recall that the only way this can be done is to call in?
Jul 7, 2014, 5:55 pm
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YYC
Posts: 23,804
When it works, within Flex you can pick M if it's offered by asking for uppradeable fare; should offer you M as an option with less credits.
Within the bins you between which you cannot select, there is no real difference apart from price.
So, real issue is not so much that you can't. But that you need to know how to. Which at the end of the day benefits those of us who know.
So should we complain?
May 22, 2015, 5:48 pm
#25
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: yyz
Programs: status-free
Posts: 565
Wow, that managed to be funny and mean and true and useful and clear all at the same time. Kudos.
I can't live up to that standard, but I did think of one clarification:
Although our discount brand Rouge shares its name with a type of cosmetic, it is important to differentiate the two. One is a cheap product designed to cover blemishes and create the illusion of youth and vigour, while the other is a kind of makeup.
I can't live up to that standard, but I did think of one clarification:
Although our discount brand Rouge shares its name with a type of cosmetic, it is important to differentiate the two. One is a cheap product designed to cover blemishes and create the illusion of youth and vigour, while the other is a kind of makeup.
May 22, 2015, 5:57 pm
#26
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
wow, that managed to be funny and mean and true and useful and clear all at the same time. Kudos.
I can't live up to that standard, but i did think of one clarification:
Although our discount brand rouge shares its name with a type of cosmetic, it is important to differentiate the two. One is a cheap product designed to cover blemishes and create the illusion of youth and vigour, while the other is a kind of makeup.
I can't live up to that standard, but i did think of one clarification:
Although our discount brand rouge shares its name with a type of cosmetic, it is important to differentiate the two. One is a cheap product designed to cover blemishes and create the illusion of youth and vigour, while the other is a kind of makeup.
May 22, 2015, 10:56 pm
#28
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,727
RULES
The whole regimen is highly complicated and we therefore cannot possibly expect all employees to know all of the rules all of the time. If they can’t know them thoroughly, we recognize that you can’t be expected to know them either. For this reason, we will conveniently tell you what the rules are when we need you to follow them, whereupon you are expected to follow them without question or hesitation.
The whole regimen is highly complicated and we therefore cannot possibly expect all employees to know all of the rules all of the time. If they can’t know them thoroughly, we recognize that you can’t be expected to know them either. For this reason, we will conveniently tell you what the rules are when we need you to follow them, whereupon you are expected to follow them without question or hesitation.
